Illegal Activity in North Texas

Ø According to the 2013 Texas Department of Public Safety Threat Overview, the four most dangerous gangs in Texas: Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, Texas Mexican Mafia, and Barrio Azteca.

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North Texas has a large concentration of three of those gangs: Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, and Texas Mexican Mafia.

Ø Gangs in Texas are also engaged in human trafficking, exploiting victims, forced labor, sex trade, and for the most dangerous gangs, human smuggling.

Ø Many Texas gangs have developed relationships with Mexican cartels, and are therefore involved in a higher level of crime. In certain instances, these gangs are contracted to commit assassinations, kidnapping, and assaults in Texas and Mexico on behalf of the cartels.

Ø Cheese heroin, which first gained prominence in ‘06 and ‘07, remains a threat in the North Texas area. Cheese heroin is a highly addictive and dangerous drug that contains black tar heroin mixed with pharmaceutical medication. It has been identified in North Texas-area middle schools and high schools, and it accounts for approximately 37 % of drug use by students, who can purchase it for as little as $2 per dose.

Ø The National Institute on Drug Addiction shows teenagers have different attitudes toward prescription drugs and heroin. Prescription opiods, such as Vicodin and OxyContin are viewed as a less dangerous drug by teenagers nationwide, while heroin has long been viewed as one of the most dangerous drugs available. However, the prescription drugs ordered by doctors nationwide have a nasty side effect: addiction. A person addicted to prescription drugs needs a stronger dose each time to experience the same sensation of euphoria. That stronger pull can lead to heroin, which is additionally alluring because it costs less and is easily accessible. Heroin is a drug that can create a powerful addiction in the first one or two times it is used. Therefore we need to treat the threat of prescription drug abuse more seriously, and the attitudes of our teenagers need to change accordingly.

Ø Deaths from prescription painkillers have reached epidemic levels in the past decade. The number of these overdose deaths nationally is now greater than the deaths from heroin and cocaine combined. Prescription painkiller overdoses killed nearly 15,000 people in the U.S. in 2008, up from approximately 4,000 people killed by these drugs in 1999. Between 1999 and 2007, the number of deaths in Texas attributed to accidental drug overdose increased 152 percent from 790 to 1,987.

Ø The Texas Department of Transportation 2011 Overview reports that of all contributing factors to motor vehicle crashes, driving under the influence of alcohol stands out for the number of deaths it causes. In 2011, 1,039 people were killed in DUI motor vehicle traffic crashes in Texas. This represents 34.5% of the total number of people killed in the state in motor vehicle crashes.

Ø 498 car crashes were due to DUI in Dallas County in 2011, which resulted in 10 fatalities.

Ø According to the Texas Department of State Health Services Center for Health Services, cocaine is the most mentioned drug in the blood for drug poisoning deaths in Region 3 for both 2010 and 2011.

Ø Heroin is the second most mentioned drug in the blood for drug poisoning deaths in Region 3 for both 2010 and 2011.

2011 DUI Information in Region 3

Collin: 506/11 / .06%
Cooke: 57/5 / .15%
Dallas: 2,339/63 / .10%
Denton: 498/10 / .07%
Ellis: 124/7 / .08%
Erath: 59/2 / .15%
Fannin: 29/0 / .09%
Grayson: 148/10 / .12%
Hood: 69/1 / .13%
Hunt: 72/8 / .08%
Johnson: 130/2 / .09%
Kaufman: 114/11 / .11%
Navarro: 58/0 / .12%
Palo Pinto: 29/3 / .10%
Parker: 136/6 / .11%
Rockwall: 37/0 / .05%
Somervell: 14/1 / .17%
Tarrant: 1,597/54 / .09%
Wise: 61/4 / .10%

County:Total DUI Crashes/Total DUI Fatalities &
% of People in County Involved in DUI Crashes

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2011 Known Drug Poisoning Fatality Stats

County / Known Overdose Fatalities / Percent of People in County / Known Overdose Fatality with Heroin Mention / Percent of Total Known Overdoses with Mention of Heroin / Known Overdose Fatality with Cocaine Mention / Percent of Total Known Overdoses with Mention of Cocaine
Collin / 52 / .0064 / 20 / 38.46 / 10 / 19.23
Cooke / 9 / .0235 / 3 / 33.33 / 1 / 11.11
Dallas / 194 / .0081 / 57 / 29.38 / 90 / 46.39
Denton / 29 / .0042 / 10 / 34.48 / 5 / 17.24
Ellis / 4 / .0026 / 1 / 25 / 2 / 50
Erath / 1 / .0026 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Fannin / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Grayson / 39 / .0322 / 3 / 7.69 / 6 / 15.38
Hood / 1 / .0019 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Hunt / 5 / .0058 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Johnson / 12 / .0079 / 2 / 16.66 / 1 / 8.33
Kaufman / 5 / .0047 / 1 / 20 / 2 / 40
Navarro / 1 / .0021 / 1 / 100 / 0 / 0
Palo Pinto / 2 / .0071 / 1 / 50 / 0 / 0
Parker / 4 / .0034 / 2 / 50 / 3 / 75
Rockwall / 5 / .0062 / 2 / 40 / 0 / 0
Somervell / 1 / .0118 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
Tarrant / 95 / .0051 / 37 / 38.95 / 27 / 28.42
Wise / 4 / .0067 / 1 / 25 / 0 / 0

Ø *Texas Department of Transportation 2011 Overview, The University of Texas School of Social Work, and a National CDC study found at: http://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/rxbrief/.

If you would like to receive more data, or would like to contribute to our data repository, please contact

This program is funded by the Texas Dept. of State Health Services & The Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse

1349 Empire Central Drive Suite 850 Dallas, TX 75247 214.522.8600 or 1-800-246-HOPE www.PRC3.org